The Glass Maiden
by Uotani the fishie
Summary: What if Battousai met Kaoru in the Tokugawa days instead of Tomoe? And this time, she's an ugly girl with burns on her face, working as a poor maid for stubborn men at the tea house...
1. The Glass Maiden

The Glass Maiden and the Blossoming Flowers of Kyoto

The Glass Maiden and the Blossoming Flowers of Kyoto

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uo

Disclaimer: I only write for my own enjoyment, these are all Watsuki's characters. The only thing that's mine is the storyline and..yes. If I owned Kenshin, I would be so awesome and you would all know my real name .

It was a starry night, silence was in the air. There were footsteps, a pomegranate tree just beginning its growth. The air was brisk, this man, Battousai, he ran through the brown brittle branches, across the sparkling river without any fish. Closer and closer, he came at his target. They were near the river as well. Finally, he approached them. As always, the Battousai was ready.

He slid his sword right in the last man's eye, violently thrusting it inwards. Another mission had been complete, he could finally rest. Three bodies lay on the ground. A wound had formed from the bottom of his eye to the side of his lip. Blood slowly dripped down onto the cold, cruel ground. Quietness, he was Kenshin again; he was no longer going to kill for the night.

Kenshin looked down at the man who had given him this injury. Evening was on the surface, he stood there as Katsura's men began to clean the body. "Well done Himura. You can go back now" Seikei walked over to the body, smiling his usual peculiar smile.

Kenshin cleaned his sword, wiping off all the stained blood. The same thing had happened.

Every other day, he would be asked to serve as the heaven's justice. Or so he thought. Not once, not even with his master, did he feel the feeling of warmth, the feeling of home. That had been gone for many years, ever since his mother had left him for the other world. Never once did he came home and could really call it "home."

He stood there, quiet as usual, flushing his face with brisk cold water. His hands became numb, but this was never a trouble for such a hitokiri like him. They had named him "Battousai," meaning one who had mastered all the Battoujustsu techniques. His hands would react to anything. Never regret. He was killing, murdering for the new era to come, the era in which peace would finally collapse upon the Tokugawa.

Kenshin washed away his blood and put the cloth he had used aside. He looked into the reflection of the puddle of water and blood he had made onto the floor. Nothing was seen besides crimson liquid. There was a shadow. His silhouette imprinted onto the ground. Always, everything was unclear. The real answer was just what he heard, from his master. He would never find out by himself.

That is why he always slept with his sword next to him. All those spirits of the people he killed did not bother him. He had seen too many suffer. One moment could make a difference. Like that time, if his sensei had come just seconds before, his sisters wouldn't have been dead. He didn't need to learn swordsmanship. Maybe he would have to though, to protect, the innocent. The ones who had never bloodied their hands were the ones worthy. Yet, he saw himself as nothing. One day he would die.

He accepted this. A drop of water dripped into the puddle making it a bit clearer. Kenshin closed his eyes, thinking about the story his Otou-san, whom he could barely make out the face of, had told him.

The red haired man blinked, looking up at the moon. It was so white, so pure. Like the glass maiden…

That fairy tale he had heard years ago from his mother. He still remembered that dream he use to believe. It was all sham. Yet, coming from the mouth of his loving kaa-san, it always made him feel free. Alive. Whenever he killed, he would think of this story, about just one day, when the whole world could change.

"_Your grandma use to tell me this story when I was young. It is called, The Glass Maiden. A long time ago, there was a beautiful maiden. She was poor, and she worked at a small tea house, not as a geisha, but as a simple maid. Never did she get paid much, but that was the only thing she could do. Sweep along side the rooms; cook the food for the men that went inside. Everyone wondered why she never sold herself off to anyone. She always said that word, always that word. "Home." So many men fell for her, but after many months, years of waiting, they gave up on her. They said she had a glass heart. One day, she fell in love with a dark, cruel prince, but she softened his heart. He became a much kinder ruler…but, she had to pay a price."_

_The little boy opened his eyes wide, wondering what happened to her._

"_He was at a battle, a very huge one. Many soldiers swept into his homeland, he was on a killing rage. At that time, he even killed women and children who looked like the enemy. He was foolish. For at that time, he was about to kill a young child brought by a family from the country he was fighting against. The woman he loved opposed. She cried and cried, embracing him, making him hold back. Then, realizing he had made an unwise mistake, he raised the sword very much above his head, swiftly attempting to commit seppuku...Shinta? Is this getting to scary for you? I can stop." The little boy shook his head. "Okay, well, right when he almost hit his head, she went over him. Blood spilled upon his cheeks as she fell down. Right after that he smiled, tears in his eyes, saying that word she always said, 'Home...home…Let's go home now.' With that, he took the sword out of his love and stabbed it into himself, dying as well." _

_At that time, Kenshin didn't realize the significance. "K-kaa-san, why did she do that?"_

_She smiled, putting down her long black hair. "So he wouldn't have to kill himself."_

"_But he died."_

"_Yes, I know, I'm sure they are both happily living together in the heavens now."_

"_Kaa-san, why is she the glass maiden if only her heart was glass?"_

"_That's because…she made the prince's… whole world change…Shinta-chan, what happens when you put my glass tea cup over your Otou-san's candle light?"_

"_The flame disappears."_

_His mother nodded in approval."Correct. The maddened flames, burn out. You are very right my son. And what happens when you put unready glass over a burning flame?" Her tone of voice became softer and a little sadder as well._

"_Well, it also disappears, Kaa-san."_

"_Just as your father during in the fires of Osaka..."_

_It had been so many months; Kenshin had almost forgotten that he even had a father._

To this day, that was all he saw in the story. Brief nonsense. There was no such thing as a glass maiden. There was no one who could completely change _his _life, for he knew. It would end in a flicker, just like his father. He was going to be devoured into the flames of hell one day. However, he did not care.

_His Kaa-san use to call him "Shinta." It was before he became an assassin._

Battousai himself wasn't really the mindless one, which everyone thought him as. Of course, he himself did not show any emotion, and lies to himself made him detached to the whole world.

She took the piece of her hair tie and wrapped it around a bleeding scratch on her finger. The men stared in disgrace as the head lady, Tomoki, came inside. "Is there anything wrong?"

"This ugly maid of yours isn't all that good. You should fire her. She broke the cup as well. Now how am I supposed to drink my sake?"

The head lady glared at Kaoru, who was picking up the shattered glass on the floor and quickly sent her out. Kaoru sat down in her small room, which was under the whole building. It smelled terrible, with mice running around many times during the night. She wiped the long, dusted mirror and looked at her whole reflection. Her body was slim, and her obi fitted perfectly on her. The designs on her kimono were very plain; all she had on it were green bamboo leaves hanging down from a bamboo grove in the corner. She touched her face, full of burn marks and scars in which everyone thought were real.

They all said that she was nothing compared to the beautiful geishas in the teahouse. All of them had neatly shaved eyebrows, drawn over. There faces were white, and they always wore golden kimonos with butterflies and sakura petals everywhere. Every man who stepped in had called them the most surpassing women in Japan. Maybe it was true, they were all taught from a very young age how to please men, to make all their worries go away. The one wish of a geisha, no one ever knew, was to have a man who loved her enough to take her home.

Kaoru was different. When she first came to their doorstep, she was very young. The head lady was a geisha then, the head geisha. Many men favored her, but she never left the teahouse, no matter what. At that time, Kaoru had just run from her burning hometown. She was covered in scars and fainted at the doorstep. It smelt so good; the fragrances of expensive perfumes filled the air.

When she found out years later where she really was, she made her burns and scars look permanent, every now and then, she would hear the men say, "That girl would be fine, if only she didn't have those hideous scars." That did not matter. She didn't come to sell herself away. Kaoru once said to herself, "I have a place to live, to stay, and to work harmlessly. I will live here all my life as the ugly maid." Since then, she had never taken off those artificial burns.

They say a woman's dream was to find someone whom she loved the most and get to marry, have children. It is not true. For Kaoru, she would die here. No man could take a place in her heart, men were vile creatures. She hated them, especially the ones who came to the teahouse. Everyday she served the same group of men, the poor ones who could not afford much. They had no self respect, and all of them were just desperate oafs trying to find life. Idiocy, that's how she described them. Those people, they think they are so rich and famous? It is not true. No man ever admitted their own faults. They just went their way.

She hated them, she didn't even like the geishas who served them. It was disgraceful. Then at that time, she wanted to runaway and never come back. Was it possible?

No.

They say a house with geisha does not need maids, but it is not true. Work in the morning, work in the night. Sleepless at times, even. No one cared for her there, except, surprisingly, the one of the top geishas. Everyone said her beauty was so natural, it was unbelievable. Unlike other geishas, this woman did not have to shave off her eyebrows or make her face white, it was already perfect. All they needed to do to her was dress her up in a plain white kimono, and the men would drool until they ran out of saliva. Her name, Megumi. Besides her beauty, Megumi was also known for her rudeness and refusal to serve many men. All she ever did was put sleeping poison in their sake cups, making them wake up the next morning thinking they had spent the whole night with the top geisha.

Midnight had approached, Kaoru laid on the mat, looking at her wrist. Tied onto their since she was little, it was a small jade charm. On the front, there was kanji, which said, "Kamiya Kaoru." On the back was a tea cup. Before her parents had died, she remembered. The family specialized in making tea and teacups. What was so unusual about them was that they didn't use the usual ceramics. The Kamiya family always used glass.

End Chapter One


	2. A Hitokiri's Forbidden Love

A/N Hello everyone! Nice to meet you again! I got five reviews for the last chapter! I'm so grateful! Thank you!

**loveywhatever: **yay! First reviewer! Well I'm glad you like it so far, please keep on reading, hopefully, this will get better!

**kitty-cat:** Thank you for your support! Again, please keep continuing to read!

**Pego5678:** Hm, were you talking about a HK series or something? Because I saw a remake of Cinderella called well…something…but jeez, that didn't even cross my mind…okay never mind I don't think we're on the same page, but thanks for reading!

**BLONDE GOTH:** oOo Yes, Kaoru's artificial burns are just so amazing to me too, considering that was a last minute put in to the whole story, and people cut off their noses to not get raped…?(never heard of it, but yes, it isn't the best thought ever..) Greatest part of all is "The Glass Maiden" is my own story that I created with my own mind, so it can relate to this fanfiction. I'm very proud of it, thanks for all the praise! Read on! (if you have time, I don't want to be a pushy author, but at times…)

**Shadowkeepre:** Yay! A fifth review! (Uotani is very, very proud and thankful) I'm glad you think it's a good start; I will try to make it better and better as the story proceeds!

Everyone, and, if I don't update often, I'm sorry, its just that…school is hard, pressuring, blah, blah, blah, and well, I'm just darn lazy sometimes. But I shall put up chapter 3 soon…very soon…uhum…cough

Please Review! There is a difference in the way I write and update depending on how much of this "support" I get, I know, I know, so dependant on comments and feedback, but…what's wrong with that -frowns-…-wink, wink-?

The Glass Maiden and the Blossoming Flowers of Kyoto

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uotani the fishie

Disclaimer: I only write for my own enjoyment, these are all Watsuki's characters. The only thing that's mine is the storyline, and the hopeless hours of typing. If I owned Kenshin, shoot, this wouldn't be call "fan fiction," just "fiction." Or, if it was all pictures, it wouldn't be call "doujinshi" just regular manga.

_From the last chapter…_

_Midnight had approached, Kaoru laid on the mat, looking at her wrist. Tied onto their since she was little, it was a small jade charm. On the front, there was kanji, which said, "Kamiya Kaoru." On the back was a tea cup. Before her parents had died, she remembered. The family specialized in making tea and teacups. What was so unusual about them was that they didn't use the usual ceramics. The Kamiya family always used glass._

Its green dullness yet uniqueness were what made her charm such a treasure to her. This was one of the three things she owned. As she lifted her pillow, she looked at the little glass form under it. She opened it in half, and there it was the _letter._

All the dreary kimonos she wore were old, one day they would have to get trashed, to keep away the bad luck. Years ago, whenever geishas passed by her, all she saw were malicious stares and giggles, as they waved their fans gracefully about. They always covered their faces from her, saying an intended to be polite greeting. That is what they use to do. Now, they knew that she meant nothing. They did not care if they made fun of Kaoru right in front of her. It's not like she could ever do anything.

When they passed by now, they would push anything that she held out of her hands, saying that it was imperfect somehow. When she was not carrying anything, they would shoo their fans all over; saying those words that they thought could pierce Kaoru right then and there. "Ah! I sense bad luck my sisters, move faster."

As she was drifting in her sleep, the head lady came in, holding a broken cup and something behind her back. "Kaoru-chan. What have you done?"

Kaoru turned around, looking at the woman. "For once, I let you serve very well high classed men. Now, look at you, you broke an expensive cup like this! It was fine porcelain made by the best potters!"

"Tomoki-sama, the men pushed me to the door because they became drunk." She paused, waiting for the answer. It was true. The group of men she served today had drank very much with geishas playing music for them. They started getting into a debate on whether the shoguns were needed or not. As Kaoru approached, one of them grabbed her shoulder and pushed her against the shoji. Thus, the tea cup shattered.

"That is your fault for being so clumsy!" Tomoki pulled out her steel handled broom, raised it high above the girl's back, and slammed it down as hard as she could.

The morning bell rung as all the girls in the teahouse began to dress up in their vivid kimonos and obis. Makeup was scattered among the tables, as Kaoru watched them from behind the piece of cloth that concealed their room. Quickly she looked away, hanging onto her back that had bled all last night. Though, no matter it hurt, she never cried, not once. In fact, she as far as she could remember, she never cried in this place. The only ones that should be crying were the geishas here. Their whole life, they had only learned how to please people.

_The pain you took in yourself didn't hurt as much as the pain you have to see in others. Wounds on the outside could heal, but what you had witnessed, and what was in your heart could stay there forever. _

The scars in her heart began in the flames of her hands.

_On that day, when the hitokiri emerged._

Her home was always small, filled with beautifully handmade cups and pots. It was always warm, because of the fire that burned all day in the stove. Every night, her Otou-san walked through the house, making sure nothing had burnt down. The houses in their village were all made of poles of wood and thick paper. One small candle falling from a table may mean disaster.

It was a cold evening, that day. Her mother was feeding her the broth that was meant for dinner. Kaoru remembered. That day, her mother seemed so sad, trying to conceal it with her smile. Then, she found out the secret that had been hidden from her for many years.

"_Kaoru, what do you think of hitokiri?"_ she asked, slowly blowing the smoke from the heat of the soup.

"_Kaa-san…" _Kaoru didn't know what was going to happen on this night. _"I don't know. I don't like them, they are so mean." _

"_Then, what if your father was a hitokiri?" _There was a long pause, as drops of tears came down her mother's face.

"_No, Tou-san couldn't be. Even if he was, he is kind to everyone, so I still love him." _

Without any words, her mother came into her room for a long time, coming back out holding an object, handing it to her daughter.

"_It's so beautiful, Kaa-san" _In her hands held a lovely maiden of glass. Her mother didn't say anything. At that moment, the door slammed open. There was silence, as the dark figure approached slowly. On his side, he was clutching onto something. Immediately, the little girl recognized what it was. _"Kaa-san! He's holding a katana! He's going to kill us!"_

"_Run, Kaoru!" _Her mother screamed. Kaoru hesitated, but her mother pushed her aside. _"Run or I will never look at you again! I will never love you if you don't run!" _Without thinking, Kaoru did as her mother said, ran. But she stopped and turned when she reached the outside of their doorway. A scream went out, and she looked inside. The floor was covered with blood, the killer holding on to her mother.

"_Kaa-san!" _She ran to her mother, who was covered in blood. Kaoru looked at the face of the hitokiri. His face was wet, but his bangs covered his eyes. She took the small statue in her hand and threw it at his forehead. Blood came out, and his hands swiped through his hair. His face was so familiar. _"Tou-san!"_ Kaoru could not believe her own eyes. Frightened, she took her figure and stepped back, colliding against the table. It fell, along with the candle atop of it. The fire quickly spread, but her father didn't move. She began to run out of the house, teapots clattering on the shelves. One in flames fell upon her, burning her face. As Kaoru made her way through the city, she stopped for a moment to look at the house that the older boy lived in. It was burning down; all she saw was a figure getting consumed by red flames. Even though she was only three then, she could make things out with her own small mind. She heard the cries of a mother, then silence. At that time, she knew that the boy whom she called "older brother" was gone. He was four years older than her, but he never left her out of anything. To him, Kaoru belonged. Now, he was long dead. Light rain fell amongst the village that night, but the fire's rage seemed to become endless.

The little girl kept running as far away as she could. Bleeding, and crying, not understanding anything, she collapsed in front of the teahouse in the neighboring town. After the fire had died down, that's when geisha Tomoki came out. She was young and beautiful then. Tomoki hadn't intended for a small girl to fall on her doorstep. The head geisha didn't want to go through the trouble, but many people were there to see it. That is why, for the sake of her own name, Tomoki carried the girl into the teahouse. From then on, every witness of that event knew Tomoki as the kind, caring geisha.

A long time ago, Kaoru had never understood why her father killed her mother. Not until she had one day dropped her glass statue while cleaning. It came apart; she thought that she had broken it. However, when she looked inside, it was meant to be opened. There was an old letter that was concealed for so long.

_Dearest Kaoru, _

_When you read this letter, I know that I will be dead. In these last few moments of my life, I want to share you the secret of this family. Tea-making is just a disguise for your father. He was a real hitokiri, if you haven't yet found out. Two days ago, he had told me that he had an assignment. That assignment was to kill me. Do not blame him, it was his orders. I should have thought before I fell in love with a hitokiri. But he was so kind, so gentle and loving, just as you have said. But, his master forbade him to fall in love, for it weakened his incomparable skills. I never knew. There were two choices; both your father and I never see each other again, or for him to erase me from his whole life. I couldn't bear the fact not being able to see him again, so I told him to assassinate me tonight. I don't want you to see, but it is no use. Please don't hold a grudge against him. He will take care of you from now on, without me. I will keep you and your father in my heart always._

_-Kaa-san._

Destiny had to be cruel to her parents. Her father did not move that night, he didn't want to leave her mother. He would rather die with his love.

This was all she could conclude. To this day, hitokiri were frightening men. Even if the last killing she had witnessed was years ago, those images never faded away from her mind. Then it struck her, tonight was the night-the only night in the whole year when she had the chance to leave the teahouse for a few hours. As Lady Tomoki walked by, she declared in a quiet voice. "Tomoki-sama, today, will the geishas be going out for the occasion?"

The lady bit her dappled red lips, and thought. Afterwards, she slowly nodded, clearing her throat. "Ah! Everyone! Close the teahouse! We are going to serve during the _kabuki_ tonight!" Then, in a ruffled, hushed tone, she whispered to Kaoru. "You may come along. Just stay near the back. You might drive away our customers."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The chilling wind blew through the window, waking the hitokiri up. His face was pale; the blood on his face had stopped falling like tears in the rain.

He pushed open the shoji into the open space ahead of him. It was a small inn, yet so many people stayed here. Some were merely farmers coming to the city for the first time for the one leisure times in their lives. Some were just poor maids dressed in lilac kimonos, serving meals with tea to the guests whom they either see often, or have never in their lives, met. Then, there was Kenshin. There weren't many people like him at the inn. Not every one killed, holding only thoughts of honor.

Samurai, it was just another class within the group of men in Japan. They were meant to be on top of the list, everyone had to respect them for their seemingly kind doings. In truth, the many villagers who respected samurai only did because of their fear of death, the fear of being erased from this world.

The Obun Festival was to be celebrated today. This was the time when the inn was booked, and empty most of them time. In all of Kyoto, people danced and sung. They watched balancing acts and magic tricks done across town. Lanterns were lit everywhere. All the time. However, the largest attractive was obviously, kabuki. Every year, the traveling actors did a different performance. Although it was lowly of samurai, or any killers at all to watch these acts, the townspeople could tell, on night the Obun Festival, there were in fact many swordsmen dressed up as regular men to see the plays.

Seikei walked into the entrance of the hallway, motioning his finger towards him. "Kenshin," his voice said sternly. The hitokiri, or samurai as some call it, looked up.

"The Obun Festival will take place tonight. There are no assignments. I suggest you go, it's rare to have a break like this."

Kenshin's expression did not change. He did not feel any use of the festival. Being dragged by Seikei every time the occasion came; it was always the same. False magic on the streets, vividly colored paper dolls, were just attractions for the greediness of money. "There is no use for me to go."

Seikei sighed. "Year after year I ask you to go but you don't cooperate. Fine, this year I won't drag you. However, I think a new kabuki group is performing this year. I heard they were good."

"That won't make a difference." Kenshin replied, in a low tone.

A twinkle went upon Seikei's mischievous face. "Well, you see the thing is, they're going to do this new play that has never been done before. Do you know what it is?"

Stillness.

"Well, I'm not sure if you are interested, but this year's play will be interesting. It's called, _The Life of Genji Hirosaki, _written by one of the more famous kabuki stars. I heard it was absolutely great, reflecting on the true life of a hitokiri, honoring his spirit. You might want toobserve it and follow it, seeing that you have gotten nowhere with your life." Seikei grinned, and walked out of the hallway. Then, his face popped up again. "Of course, you know, I was just kidding about not dragging you to see this. You have to see the possibility of your fate, after all…" It was those words that Kenshin never understood. It seemed as if it was only nonsense; nothing else.

_Tonight, when fatewould be sealed, and a mere maid meetsthe deadly assasin. _

End Chapter 2

Next update: When I have the time, and when more reviews shall come in. The quality of my work is on it! What joy. Thank you for reading, you don't necessarily have to review, I was just kidding, but it would be nice. Ja Ne, much thanks, Uotani the fishie!


	3. Stains of Wine

KYAAHH

KYAAHH! I got 18 reviews for two chapters! (Joy!) I'm so happy! I've never got so many reviews for my shameful works, but thank you! I will try my very, very best on the next chapters! Oh yes, and my chapter this time isn't brilliant in my eyes. Maybe it was because the other two chapters were beyond my level. Wait, this doesn't make sense. I know you guys might hate my nagging, but please review if you've read this chapter. Or even go through half of it. The first part may seem boring, but yes, extras are needed! Read on and you will see.

**Miki**: It's great that you liked it, yes, you will get to see Kenshin's reaction in this chapter, though it's not very exciting, and yet, there are so many hints on what the story might lead to…

**Animelubber**: I'm glad I made you happy. Well, Battousai meets Kaoru in this chapter! Yay! Nothing happens yet though, but read on, and there will be fluff, everywhere-no, I'm joking. Kind of.-

**Fuusina**: Yeah, they will meet in this chapter by pure coincidence! It's a bit cheesy how they meet, but if you think about it, Tomoe met Kenshin by just walking drunk in the rain, so it shouldn't be so bad. -smiles-

**Happyangel123**: You know connections don't really matter on how people look. Sure, Kaoru looks really ugly and uh..yeah. But, you know Kenshin has slain so many people wouldn't you think it would be normal seeing someone with scars and burns everywhere? His reaction is strange, but later on her face might prove to be a problem. But, yes, it is in my lovely hands to decide.

**Kittykat**: What? –gasp- The letter almost made you cry? If it is a bad thing, I am sorry I had no intention of making anyone sad. Just, you know, make the point that Kaoru was sad but, yes the meeting; everyone wants to see the meeting. Here it is!

**Shadowkeepre**: Wow, I don't deserve a thank you! I am just merely doing things for my own entertainment and for the heck of it! –but a thumbs up would be nice- No, I am just kidding, that was sarcasm. As for detail, it goes off and on, so please don't get so mad if you don't get so much detail in some chapters, because sometimes I'm not one hundred percent. As for body paragraphs and dialogue, I try to keep it even because it's darn boring when people write, "And this happened," said Sano. "And then I ate," said Kenshin. Kaoru gasped. "You ate Chester?" Yes, it is a strange world out there…

**Lydia-Blessing**: Summary? I am pretty sure why more people are actually reading my story. –smiles- Thanks and here is your update!

**Tauna the tundra wolf**: Here's your update! (I will take what you said as a compliment)

**BrKen TyMez**: Yeah, it drives me crazy when I can't understand the reader too. And to be honest, sometimes I think that does happen in my fanfiction, but bear with me, errors will come, but I continually edit my stories in the future. I try my best, give my heart (or at least seventy five percent of it) doing fanfiction, and I hope you continue reading!

**Via x Infinito**: Ruining brilliant storylines? Rushing fanfiction? What? No, actually I do that at times. Okay, many times but I promise, cross my heart, I will not do this to The Glass Maiden. This is a story I want to go for, and I will make this as promising as I can, but if anything happens, tell me. I'll really consider some advice you can give.

**Polar bear**: thanks! Once again, here's your update!

**Turtleway**: yay! So much praise for one chapter! Thank you! Read now!

The Glass Maiden and the Blossoming Flowers of Kyoto

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uotani the fishie

Disclaimer: If I owned Kenshin, I wouldn't be writing here for you, my superior audience, instead, I will be writing to you through manga panels, which I shall sadly never do.

There were bits of rain that night, but Kyoto was still burning with lanterns, indicating good luck. Small paper boats were held in the children's hands, and everyone seemed so joyful. They did not know that a clan was ordered to burn down the whole city that very night.

The tall, dark man took his sword out of his sheathe, placing it next to the candlelight. His eyes held a deadly presence, as he talked to the whole unit. "Miyabe's clan will plan to destroy Kyoto tonight. Of course, as the defenders of Kyoto, we will not let this happen." His eyes glared at every single man, dressed in a turquoise uniform and bleached white bands, nodding their heads. They all went their separate ways in which they were assigned. The battle was to begin. He knew that he had to defeat the fugitives of Kyoto. Those were the only ones unworthy. Evil, would always be perish, peace had to remain in Kyoto. "Swift death to evil, Aku, Zoku, Zan," that was his belief, his ideal. He ran as fast as he could, killing the men of the opposing clan. His deadly stance was famous in this era, at least to the many well known assassins that tried opposing him. His movements were seemingly graceful, yet lethal.

As he saw a certain enemy approach, he stopped in his tracks. This enemy, unlike any ordinary, was no doubt high in skill.Anyonecould tell, by the way he bent down and slid his two swords out of his obi. Hitokiri Tomoi. Of course, an average swordsman would die under his blade. However, the man in azure coverings in front of him was no ordinary swordsman.

Immediately, Tomoi began to charge with his bloodied blade, but he did not expect what would come next. The man in front of him took his stance as well, bending his two legs down, gripping onto the sword with his left hand. The hitokiri's eyes widened as he recognized the stance, his life now ending. "Gatotsu." The defeater's sword was stained in blood, and he quickly wiped it with his white gloves that were already stained in the blood of many.

Tomoi, was no ordinary swordsman, and could easily defeat any average swordsman under his level. However, his killer was not an average swordsman, not of any rank close to that. He was strong; his sword was like the fang of a wolf. They knew him as the captain of the third Shinsengumi unit, Saitou Hajime.

The stage was immense, there were actors rushing about. Everyone was excited, and their voices were even heard from outside.

During kabuki, pages of a book could be unfolded, and the characters would stir right in front of one's eyes.

They, referring to the audience, had not realized anything mysterious about the kabuki actors.

Aka went through the corridors, arriving backstage. The others gazed at him, their mouths open. He was always the lead role, always taking the female roles of the play.

Women, they meant nothing in the era of Tokugawa. Therefore, their rights were miscounted, and sadly, kabuki acts forbade them. However Aka, he was always the one to please the audience. At once moment, he would be the slashing, blood thirsty killer. Then, they would see him in a dazzling kimono, becoming a beautiful, graceful, geisha.

It was like the small unknown magic of the kabuki world, no one knew why an ugly duckling could become a fragrant flower. Why, mere swords of plastic could do as much as slaughter and produce crimson liquids. Blood.

Except, as Aka walked in this time, he wore nothing but a plain olive colored kimono. He smiled rather contently, looking at the whole confused crew. Every time they did this play, the lead female role would go to Aka. Every time he arrived, he was always dressed in a vibrant kimono full of birds fluttering off the cloth. Yet, tonight, in the most important act, he looked like just another, rather, ordinary men.

"Aka, what are you doing?" The small boy servant walked up to the star of kabuki. "I had your costume ready! Why didn't you come to pick it up? The show's going to start soon!" He looked a bit angry, but obviously curious. All the actors questioned Aka's motives, but the lead actor did not say anything. Instead, he only began to walk towards them, whispering. Though, the way his eyes smirked, it was like he was keeping a secret, that would never be found out.

"I shall be the host today. You will still take your assigned roles, but there will be a change in plans. Hitokiri Hirosaki? Where are you?" The tall man stood out, finishing up the last touches upon his shining sword.

"Yes, Aka-sama? I am very well prepared right now."

The man indeed looked like a real hitokiri of the era. His hair was tied up in a high tress, and he carried two long swords at his side. He wore a dark kimono with an indigo covering, and his eyes were in a chilling, glaringposition, as if he could see through every single person in the crew. Aka nodded in approval, and bit his thin lips.

"You look as great as ever. However, there will be a change of plans. In the second to last act, you are to going to go backstage for a stop. Then, the beautiful maiden will come out for the first time, and someone will take your place. I'm afraid we will have some problems tonight."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The whole teahouse was filled with many different emotions. Geishas scrambled about, finding the proper white powders to smoothen theirskin, or the unbelievably beautiful kimono they had kept just for this occasion. Tomoki, though she no longer worked as a geisha, she too was confused, angry, and not at all procrastinating. Everything seemed to be in a hurry, except those geishas who actually remembered about this night.

Kaoru watched the girls on the sideways of the hallway, carefully beginning to line up, covered in luminous gold jewelry. She then looked down at the drab clothing she was wearing. Her hands felt the tattered, white kimono that she wore only on special occasions. It had no design whatsoever, and it was always lent to her, because all of the others thought that it was dull. Nonetheless, she treasured it. The white kimono belonged to a beautiful geisha, who supposedly died years ago. The story was at least fifteen years old, so no one but Kaoru and Tomoki. The beautiful geisha who owned the white kimono had disappeared in this very teahouse. It was no myth, for when Kaoru mentioned the story about the missing geisha who owned the kimono to Tomoki, the lady stayed silent. Though, her eyes would move sideways, as if she were connected to the geisha.

It started off with a woman, who had the beauty of a fluttering butterfly. She always wore white, ever since she met the samurai who stumbled into the teahouse one night. They fell in love, but he felt that he had stained too much blood. Whenever he came back, she wore the same, plain kimono. It was a sign of calmness. No matter how much he slain, the kimono told him that he still had someone who would be his purity for him. Then, on one mission, he never came back. They said she committed suicide, and disappeared in this very teahouse.

Tomoki, she was a petite woman, with the neck of a swan. Her face showed natural beauty. No matter how many times she hurt Kaoru, the girl did not care. For years, Tomoki had protected her from the outside world. She could not call Tomoki her mother, but something very close to that; a guide, perhaps. Many years ago, there was one lesson that Kaoru would never forget. One night, Tomoki went out to run some errands. She never ran errands. Curious, Kaoru followed her, but quickly lost track of where Tomoki was heading to. Then, night time approached, and she saw the head lady again. Her face was flushed red, as if she had been drinking wine. There were stains on her kimono, and her whole body seemed unstable. Immediately, Kaoru ran up to her, and caught her as she was about to fall down. "Tomoki-san…"

"Never fall in love. Ever. Do not fall in love!" Tomoki screamed, and closed her eyes.

'_What does she mean?'_

This night was forgotten, and when Tomoki woke up the next morning, it was as if she had never gotten drunk, or told Kaoru anything. There was surely something that Tomoki was hiding from everyone else, but Kaoru never asked for anymore. A past to be buried, she was fine with that.

Those words sunk into her heart though. She had never fallen in love since she reached the teahouse, and she never would. Again, that is.

Years ago, before Osaka burned down, Older Brother; she knew that she had loved him. But he was dead, gone, erased from this world. Her heart shattered as a little girl on that day, when she did not understand the feeling of being in love. He was the only one she would love. She would close her heart to all the others. That was also the reason why she held her fake scars; To prove her loyalty to him.

The geishas were finally done, and they all came out of the teahouse as Kaoru closed the shoji behind them. Immediately, everyone went into the direction of kabuki, where the crowd was gathering in line. She stood in the back as always, just waitingfor the whole crowd would disappear so she could come in. Though, the crowd this time was much larger than other times. When everyone was finally in, she looked in the darkness and made her way to the back far from where the curtains were held. She did not see the play very well, but she could hear the story. It was intriguing indeed.

It started out with a killer, Hirosaki Genji. There were scenes when he started out as a young man who killed for his master. All he carried was honor, he wanted to protect the ones that where innocent.

The hitokiri kept watch of this play. It was different from the ones in the previous years. And as he watched more, he could not help but to think. This was almost like the life that he had experienced. The same thoughts that Hirosaki Genji held were similar to his.

"Oi! Himura!" Seikei nudged him on the shoulder as the curtains closed for the last few scenes. "Now, aren't you glad I let you see this play? Isn't it wonderful, I knew this was going to be good, right?" He grinned proudly, almost conceitedly.

All Kenshin did was nod, half agreeing. Suddenly, a man with an olive kimono walked up to him, took his arm and nodded.

"Yes, you will do. Please, come up and assist us with our play. I am Aka, the stage manager. We need a bit help in this last scene."

With a small chuckle, Seikei waved his hand letting Kenshin go through the shadows. Nothing could be seen or heard backstage, except the man who had just pulled him away. "Don't panic. Well, just a little. But, you seem like a skilled samurai, and it fits the look now doesn't it? Ah, now I just have to find your beautiful maiden." When they almost reached the front of the stage, Aka smiled, looking to his side, where a girl stood, with the back of her head facing him. Kenshin was pushed onto stage, as Aka rushed to the girl. Without even looking at her face, he slid her behind the lit screen door on stage, as the curtains opened. "Just follow along, and say these words." He whispered, handing her a small manuscript.

The announcer came on, as Kenshin stood still while everyone clapped in confusion. Then, he listened to what the announcer was saying. "He scrambled into the teahouse, as he met the beautiful young girl once again. They were finally reunited. Kenshin remembered now. In the middle of the play, it said that Genji fell in love with a strikingly beautiful geisha at a teahouse, but had to make their meetings secret, for the head lady did not want to give away her prized geisha. Later on, he had to go off to a mission off in Hokkaido, and he did not come back. Not until now.

Then, the girl behind the screen began to speak. "Genji, you're finally back. After all of these years, I have waited, and now you have come back. Now you must suffer with me." The screen fell down, and everyone gasped as they saw the maiden. Her face was greatly blemished, and her eyes widened as she saw their reactions. She looked over at the man who played the hitokiri, but he did not have the same reaction as the rest. Instead, he seemed to gaze at her scars with no emotion.

It was true; she did not look like any beautiful geisha like the play described. But it was strange. When Kenshin tried to look away, he could not. His eyes would keep watching the girl who stared at him with confusion.

After the audience quieted down, Kaoru looked down at the piece of paper she held. Although she had not heard about the play before, she knew that there was something wrong with the script. Though, the man who pulled heron stage appeared behind her, whispering for her to continue. She nodded, and read the last lines. "The flowers are blossoming in Kyoto, come out and watch them with me." There was silence at first, but after a while,audience started to scream loudly, trying to evacuate the stage. Right away, a group of swordsmen dressed in black ran about, holding their swords, killing every single person in their way. As if instinct had told him to, Kenshin grabbed the girl and made his way out.  
"What are you doing?" She screamed in anger.  
"Don't you understand your lines?" Kenshin said briskly, as he arrived outside. It was true, what was on the manuscript was true.  
"What do you mean?"  
Houses were burning down as he held her hand, running around the flames.

"The blossoming flowers…it means that Kyoto is burning down."


	4. Sound of Rain

**Tauna the tundra wolf:** Thank you thank you, don't give me such, pressure, it's too much praise, sinking! SINKING! –gasp- I'm joking. Thank you very much for your positive reaction towards my story, and continuing reading!

**Scythe**: Haha, once again, thank you!

**BlackAngelBlood**: I'm sorry I typed up my AN before I saw your comment…I actually had nineteen reviews for my last chapters, I'm so happy. Thank you for your support:

**Animelubber**: Thankyou! I can't believe I amaze people with my wrecked down, tattered story, oh non god, I'm so happy! I'm glad you look forward to the next and next and next chapter! –Smiles-

**BLONDE GOTH**: Wow, such a sad economy, the audience just thinks Kaoru's some actor, and they're assuming that those are just fake scars (which they are but you get it) and no, the fire started to soon for them to criticize any acting or ugliness at all. Thank you, I never really..thouht I had a "style of writing". Craziness. See you in the next chapter!

**LadyDarkAngel**:Heh! Thanks for sharing the love, I will try my best to do better! Than before! Every chapter!promise.

**Happyangel123**: My dear, yes they are fake scars and uh, how they are going to fall for each other? That's a whole different story, that's what fanfiction is for! You have to wait and find out-Uotani-san has to find out as well…-

**Albaloo**: Don't worry; promise there will be KenshinxKaoru fluff EVERYWHERE once you get to the later chapters. I cannot wait, read on and it will be a worthwhile wait!

**Lydia-Blessing**: Thank you! I actually love the kabuki too. It plays an important role in this story, and there should be more acts later on. I actually read about kabuki, and wow. I can't wait until I get on to my later chapters! They are going to be o-so-fun.

**bRKeN tYmeZ**: Yes, it was confusing, and I am so sorry. Yes, originality, I have no idea where my idea came from, but when I thought of it, I was all, why not? It'll be fun! And I did POV this chapter! But I hope it's not horrible –sigh- it's actually my first time doing POV (as mentioned above) so sorry if it's not…as awesome as you want it to be. And scars, well, Kaoru's decision to take them off or not all depends on how I feel like –evil laugh- but don't worry, if you give me time and if you do want the scars to tear off one day, I might just do it.

**KenshinsHeart**: Brilliant. Woah. What a strong word. I can't believe it, my work brilliant? You haven't seen anything yet. –Points to other author's stories- I'm a beginner who tries very hard to be honest, but right now I got to admit. I'm doing as brilliantly as I can. Hopefully, you can read on.

**Via x Infinito**: Brilliant? Perfect? (Uotani-san can't take this pressure that's suppose to be encouragement) Well, thank you, and I hope I did okay in this chapter, and tell me if I didn't do well on some parts. I do need to work on my POV, because I don't do it often, but please review and give me feedback/comments I don't care but thank you again!

**D-Chan3**: Thank you. I will try to keep it promising, and of course I will keep writing!

Phalon22: Thank you! (You know that story, Rurouni Kenshin: Tales of a Sexy Swordsman in your fav stories list. Man, that was funny xD)

**RogueSummersLover:** Thank you, and of course Kaoru is scared! And to sum it all up, in the last chapter, Kaoru met Kenshin because someone dragged her on stage to be a replacement actor for the lead female role. Then, suddenly, on her script, it said that "the cherry flowers of Kyoto are blossoming," or something like that. That meant that Kyoto was burning down. The script was true, so when everyone realized there was really a fire in Kyoto, they got out of the Kabuki building, and Kenshin drags Kaoru out of the stage to try to get away from Kyoto. Read on.

**Hfkhan**: Thank you very much. Woah, pure genius. These words, they are getting to me. I like them. Yet, I don't think I deserved it for this chapter. But..read on, my storyline will hopefully improve!

Thank you for all reviewers- review for this chapter if you decide to read it. Which is something that I would really appreciate. Thank you, I must finally sleep. –Please give me feedback/comments on my very first POV. It would do me a favor. If it stinks on ice, tell me…but not to harshly…because, well, I don't like flames but if they are really needed..I tried my hardest on this chapter! I really did!

The Glass Maiden and the Blossoming Flowers of Kyoto

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uotani the fishie

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Watsuki does. Yes. Have fun rubbing it in.

-Yay-My very first POV chapter. Well, I've actually never done these before; so bear with me. Sorry for the chapter if it's rotton-first things never come out as the best. If I get positive feedback I may just try some more tidbits of POV here and there in this process. If not…I'm screwed. "" "" "" "" "" "" indicates the switch between characters' points of view…because I didn't know what else to separate them with –sigh-

My heart pounded, as my hand was grabbed by the man that was on stage. His eyes seemed cautioned, so I looked around. Everywhere, there were people screaming, men taking buckets full of water dumping them upon houses filled with screaming women and children. At that instant, I took my hands and put them over my eyes. There had never been such a fire in Kyoto, ever since I had come. Everything was peaceful. I felt stupid, just standing there covering my eyes. The actor right next to me might have felt the same about me.

This brought back memories. If I would ever see fire before my eyes, I would hide. That is exactly what happened when I was old enough to serve Lady Tomoki in the teahouse. I was nine. My very first job was to cook. I had seen it many times; the previous maid to the teahouse showed me. She too, had burns across her face. She was the one to show me how to make them look as if they were real. She once told me why she hadn't taken off her scars. Though, the only thing I remember about it was that she was once a geisha, but something happened. After she died, I never heard that story again. So I forgot.

All I remembered was crying. No one attended her funeral, but for some strange reason, Lady Tomoki had given her a proper burial, instead of just throwing her body out like she had done to others. I never visit her grave anymore; it brings back much too many events meant to be completely forgotten. I stood, remembering the day she was buried. It was a rainy day, and that was one year later after I had worked at the teahouse. How she died was still a mystery, but no one paid tribute or attention. One geisha just found her one day, floating in the river across from the shrine. She had supposedly committed suicide by drowning. Though, when I looked at her face, it looked like regret, an angry, yet sad face. She did not want to die.

That very night, I realized my fear for fire. I was squatting down on top of the stone ground, and I took a look into the large pile of damp logs in the kitchen. I had seen it before- the maid would make the fire larger below the cooking area by throwing the logs into it. So, with my small hands, I grabbed a cylinder log and threw it in the fire. I missed the center of the flames. Instead, it took a sideways turn, and the piece of log immediately rolled out, almost burning down the kitchen. Luckily, Lady Tomoki was nearby and threw a bucket over the flame. I sat in the corner, crying, remembering the end of my mother and father, how I murdered many because of the fire I had created. Lady Tomoki had only let me drink water that week; the geishas were prohibited to give me any real food.

But that was last time. It was only a small kitchen fire. Now, there were more flames. My body would not move on its own, not until the actor with the crimson hair shook me, and I realized that he was pulling me away from the city.

"We need to find somewhere to stay. Kyoto is going to be in ashes if the fire doesn't stop." His eyes narrowed towards my face, and suddenly, his hands touched upon my face, as if he were trying to memorize the lines of my fake scars. Though, his expression showed confusion, as if he did not have any control of what he was doing. No. No man was ever to touch me. Never. I slapped his hand off my face, and started charging towards the teahouse, where Lady Tomoki and the other geishas were probably hiding in. I hadn't known until I arrived at the teahouse, but the actor was chasing me. That was the least of my problems though; the teahouse was slowly withering away. Lady Tomoki's usual neat bun was cluttered up into tangles, and she, along with other geishas, was taking buckets full of water and spreading them over the flames.

When everyone was busy putting out the flames, many samurai started to surround us, raising their swords. All the girls started to scream, and one by one they hid behind Lady Tomoki, who was equally petrified as they. Then, as I scanned the teahouse, I heard the sounds of two swords clashing into each other. It was the actor, beads of sweat slowly making their way down his face, his sword almost faster than my eyes could see. I could not keep up with his movements, and then it occurred to me. This man, he indeed wasn't an ordinary actor. Him, he was a real hitokiri.

Lady Tomoki screamed at me, raising her hand above a broom close by. She took it and thrashed it onto my hand. "Hurry up idiot! Help put out the fire! We are going to loose customers if the teahouse burns down! We are going to become poor beggars!"

I nodded, as I, too, picked up a bucket, filled it with water and flushed it onto the fire. This went on forever- when the fire finally died down, all was a disaster. We were lucky, not everything had burned down. However, the teahouse had not been the greatest place to be at the moment. All the geishas were crying- apparently someone had died. I slowly walked over to the dead body, laying on the cold, hard ground. I was scared, but I had a feeling. It was one of those times when I knew that something was wrong- I slowly maneuvered my eyes and observed her more carefully. It was hard holding in my tears that time; none of the geishas had seen me cry in my whole life. My body felt heavy, as if someone had just pierced a sword through it. I could barely make out the name of the person who had left us.

Moments later, Lady Tomoki cried and screamed her hardest. The other geishas did seem to frown, but they didn't care. This would just mean less competition for them. After all, the leading geisha was dead.

The hitokiri still stood there, staring at the scene. He was watching as we removed the geisha off the floor. "She was murdered by one of the assassins."

I looked at her again. Her stomach shed much blood; someone had stabbed her with a sword. Her face was almost burnt to crisp, but you could still see her favorite red clip, pierced onto the top of her bun. A chill went up my spine, as I looked at the man who stood across from me. He was one of them. He was like my father; he had murdered an astounding number of men. I wanted all of this to be a dream. But I couldn't awaken. The hitokiri, the fires, they were real. Megumi had really died.

Whenever I looked at the hitokiri from then on, I clenched my teeth. He was like my father, heck, he probably was someone who lead my father. The way he fought, his swordsmanship was not at all dull. From then on a grudge built upon both of us. I don't know why, but I just developed a hate for him. He should have protected Megumi. He had the power to. Damn, why did he not? Now she will never see the light of the world again. She would have never met a strikingly handsome young man who would take her away from the teahouse- Someone who she could laugh at, someone who would make a family with her. Someone who she would grumble at, someone she could smile at everyday; someone who would give her happiness. Someone who she would give a warm embrace every single sunlit day, someone who would give her a pair of beautiful diamond earrings, and say that he would love her until she could shatter them into one million pieces. Now all she has is memories that would never be. Why didn't he protect her? I hated hitokiri. The only one that cared for someone other than himself was my father. He's dead as well. The world is corrupt…

"" "" "" "" "" "" ""

The teahouse was almost burned down, not many remains were left. Everyone was moaning over the young geisha who had gotten killed by one of the hitokiri. I tried to protect her, when everybody else was busy putting out the fire. I didn't know why they bothered; I didn't know why they stayed in this teahouse. It was like their soul was tied onto this building, and if the building was lost, they would be as well.

I haven't seen Katsura the whole night. Your master; he was the most important person of all. No matter what you would stay by their side. I failed to do this, his whereabouts are now unknown to me. Yet, there was something I had to finish in this place, I just didn't know yet.

The night before, I was dragged on to that stage, with the girl on it. She happened to belong to this teahouse. Though, she was obviously not a geisha, her face wouldn't be able to please many men. I dragged her last night though, out of the stage. Then I followed her. I swear; my feet seemed to move without my command. Even so, I stroked her face with my hand; just once. My face flushed when I did that, I didn't know what was happening to me. It was like I did it before, to this girl. But all my life, I know I have never fallen for anyone.

I could care less about the other things, the normal life that everyone else had. Because I knew that I didn't have a normal life. I killed, I would not deserve happiness. But I don't care. I really don't. Love leads to many undesirable things. My mother, my father. They had all fallen in the horrid webs spun of venomous spider. It was like opium, once a man took it; nothing could stop him from continuing. My mother, she risked her life to save me during those flames.

Although she never mentioned her sadness, I could tell. Every then, she would cry alone, while working in her small medical booth down the street. Tears would fall into a small pile of bitter ginseng, as she simmered it in her hands. Barely anyone went there to buy medicine; they all said that the things my mother had tasted salty. I didn't blame them. The first time I tried one of my mother's medicines after my father's death, was also my last time.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if my parents lived longer. Right after my mother died; there was a war that killed many. That was when I met my master. He was not a man of great respect, though he was the strongest of the strong. He decided to pass that swordsmanship on to me, and I am truly grateful. I can save many with my sword. But then, I looked at the dead geisha again. Everyone was moaning her name, "Megumi." No matter how much I killed, I would not be able to bring the dead back to life. I wanted to protect my mother as well, from the bandit that murdered her. He was cruel, coming as a gentle man wanting her to heal his "sickness". I watched from afar as he asked my mother a series of questions; then the last one came. He was smirking.

"M'am, I want to ask you something else."

"Yes?"

"You can cure anybody right?"

She nodded slowly. It was true; she was a miracle worker. At least, to me she was. Even though she hadn't revived father, she had saved me from many things that could have killed me years ago. Then, the man took out his concealed sword. With a final laugh, he slit through my mothers azure kimono, ripping layers and layers of white cloth. With her last moments of breathes, she looked at me, with tears in her eyes. The man didn't seem to notice.

"Heh. Thought so. Doctors, they can cure almost anyone. But themselves." I wanted to charge then, so I did. But when I was almost there, a humongous force pulled my back. He was a quite tall man, with long, tied black hair and a great white cloak. He killed the man who murdered my mother, and soon after that, I became his first and only pupil.

When the dead geisha was finally out of the teahouse, the head lady stared at me in freight; even though I had protected them. I never did this, so I don't know why I did it now. I had killed without my master's orders. The girl whom I had dragged out of the kabuki stage, she did not give me eye contact at all. Her face was quite damaged though, they looked like burns. There was something strange about them though, but I couldn't identify what. Why was I looking at her? My eyes couldn't leave her expression. Sad, hatred, anger, calmness; it was explained in the way she had her eyes narrowed, her lips bit in a non-orderly fashion. Her eyes, they were azure. She would have been happier; but something crushed her…it was strange. I sensed it as if I knew her-even though I did not.

The building quieted down, as I tried leaving all the women standing there alone, their food burnt down, and their water supply low. Even if I did kill them, it would make no use to me. Through situations like this, they would have to go on their own path. I would have to find my master, and that girl-

I turned back, and walked towards her. As if she had read my mind, she spoke.

"My name is Kamiya Kaoru. Now get out." She said it, with hatred, even. Not knowing why I had wanted to ask of her name, I just went out of the teahouse, the sky beginning to give out its waters. But when I heard her footsteps from the teahouse, I immediately hid, and glanced at what was happening. _She_ went outside, and then did the most unpredictable.

""""""""""""""

I saw him pace forward, he stopped, and then he went once more. Moments ago, he approached me. I'm not at all sure if he wanted my identity or not, but that was all I could offer. I didn't care; let him kill me if he had to. I just wanted him to go away. He was only another killer. When he was gone, I immediately went outside to look at the rain falling down. It was soft at first, then hard. Lady Tomoki and the other geishas didn't seem to care; their eyes showed depression. Not over Megumi-san's death of course, but over their own losses. The teahouse was a wreck, but I kept my eyes glued to the other side of the door. When I went outside, I smiled a sad, fake smile no one else could have recognized. And I savored every moment of standing out there, in the cold, harsh weather, moving my body about, my hair getting wet, my clothing getting soaked.

Dancing in the rain.

**End Chapter 4**

Complete 02.26.05

(Q: Do people read these author's notes? Or is it just me-)

I am very tired right now. It's late, no, early in the morning. Very early (1:00 AM) to be exact. And I'm finally done with this chapter! And…I have no idea how I did. I mean, I tried to do POV for a full chapter the first time ever, yes, it is pretty hard. Though, writing it in two different people's POVs was quite fun. However, it took a very long time, I haven't updated as speedy as I did for the last chapters, (if it was speedy at all) and I am truly sorry. Someone did request a longer chapter- I couldn't make it any longer. This is all that is in my mind right now, this may sound weird, but when I feel like I'm done with a chapter, I'm done. And well, unless you guys wanted me to do Lady Tomoki's point of view –which would actually be even more fun for me to write, but maybe not so enjoyable to you readers- chapters can't be really any longer. Depends on my mood, but to be honest my chapters only go around 2000 words, 3000 if I'm lucky, and 4000-6000 words if I'm all motivation (this only happens when I write the very last chapters of certain stories though). Read on to find out more, yes, this last part of the chapter was very confusing. You'll understand this part a little later, heh, this is when one of my favorite soon to be quotes in the story occur. Sleepy. Tired, Ja ne! and uh, goodnight!

Last note- I'm not sure if this is legal to the author, I haven't asked if I could refer it to people yet…but…this is a great story to read after you ((review)) for my story! It's a great thing about Saitou and Tokio. Wow, read this whole entire thing in one day, loved it. Anyways, good stuff. Go read it!

Hajime and Tokio

By AngryBee at ff . net

edit- oh yeah, I'm so happy I have so many different readers rite now. a long time ago, (aka before this fic came out) I only had about 2-4 reviews for each chapter, so I'm glad i'm improving! Ty again guys, much love!. Uotani.


	5. To Die and Protect

The Glass Maiden

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uotani the fishie

Disclaimer: My editor would have asked me to get off my lazy butt and write something by this time already…if I had one, that is.

I don't own Kenshin. No stalkers, please.

SesshyxKagura: Thank you so much! I'm so sorry I couldn't update so early! I had laziness, and my dumb computer would not cooperate with my after its reboot. –sigh-

Via x Infinito: oOo Spelling errors, ey? I hope I do better in this chapter. Thank you for pointing that out, I will keep it in mind when I'm editing it. Haha, as for meeting again, this chapter will explain it all. As for updating this late, blame it on my computer reboot and my laziness. Next update won't be so soon either, as I'm taking a trip and there shall be no computer.

scythe195: Well, I guess you could say it could happen. But right now, Kaoru only shows a bit "love" for Kenshin that she doesn't realize yet. Kenshin, on the other hand…

Phalon22: Woah, if you thought chapter 4 was sad, wait until you read this. Oh by the way, don't read if you don't like cliffhangers because I won't be updating for a month due to vacationing in a place without computer.

Rekka's Angel: Thank you very much! Yay and I finally updated!

Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85: Heh. I think this chapter is sadder. Probably.

pyramidgirl89: Thank you! Sorry I couldn't update, computer problems and no motivation to move on kind of stopped me. –writers block-

Lady Dark Angel: Next chapter, is here:D

Albaloo: This update was so lame. It came so late! Sorry!

BLONDE GOTH: Thank you for the advice, when I make my next POV –which won't be soon- I'll keep your advice in mind! Okay, as for Megumi, she was a nice person, but sadly, she's over in this story. Now she's only going to be a fragment of Kaoru's memory.

Lydia-Blessing: Well, this chapter might become tragic for you. –sigh-

RogueSummersLover: Yes, I usually like using third person too. But you know, I just wanted to try it once. Just to see how it is. Sorry for the late update!

Animelubber: Well in this chapter, everything becomes very sudden and coincidence-y. Sadly, I didn't want to expand it anymore, so, here's a bunch of ideas put together!

R.K.: Heh, I'm glad you read it then. Thank you, for waiting so long for this to come out!

hfkhan23: Woah. Barely blinked your eyes? Scary. (And I thought I was the only crazy one) No, I am, just joking, thank you so much!

KenshinslilAngel: Awesome blossom? Coolness. Um, Happy Late Father's Day! –Wow, I haven't been updating for a long time..shame.

WolfSpirt: Okay, next time I do POV I'll put who's it is for sure. And, I stopped updating because it took me a long time to rewrite this chapter because my computer got rebooted and I had not much motivation to move on that time. Sorry. Enjoy this chapter, although it's short.

Cheetara: Right now, this story is heading for all tragedy. Well, in the beginning chapters anyways. But never fear, all these tragedys will build up Battousai's and Kaoru's relationship.

Oblivionkeeper: I updated it, yay! Thank you so much for your support!

Sakura'n'Saber: Yay thank you so much! I will continue writing…just continue reviewing!

The Glass Maiden

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uotani the fishie

Disclaimer: My editor would have asked me to get off my lazy butt and write something by this time already…if I had one, that is.

I don't own Kenshin. No stalkers, please.

The Battousai kept glancing at the maiden girl, as she danced her night away. He didn't notice that morning had even arrived, until a tap on the shoulder startled him.

"Hey, Himura, we've been looking all over for you, where have you been?" Seikei's voice.

He answered using first idea that came to his mind. "That teahouse- It was being attacked last night, while other places were fine. Do you know anything about it?"

Seikei sighed, preparing to begin a new conversation.

Kenshin didn't pay attention much, but he knew his next mission, was not going to be like the others. After the chat, Seikei left, leaving behind a pair of ragged clothing for him to wear. Immediately, he put them on- right there on the street. Of course, no one saw; most had fled from their houses the night before already. When he was done, he concealed his sword in the back of him, and started walking to the place he was going to work at for the next few months. He stood in front of the building. It was the teahouse that he was just fighting in hours ago. He tucked his long hair under his hat, and then, he was ready to go.

Kaoru silently walked into the back of the teahouse. Everyone was still asleep. The morning air was quiet, there were no birds chirping after the night's rain. Her bath was always outside; behind the tall fences that no one was able to see through. The water was always cold, for the wooden tub was never heated. She slowly took off her kimono, stepped into the icy water, and dunked her head inside. Then, she forced it back out. Suddenly, as she looked down, her reflection stunned her. Her face was pale white, scar less. The blemishes were gone. For years, dull red-brown ink had built upon itself. However, now, everything was gone. Last night's rain washed all the scars off. And to her worst luck, when she turned around to see if anyone was looking, there _the Lady_ was, staring straight into her face. She looked appalled-as if she never suspected a thing throughout the years. At first, she slowly walked up to Kaoru, grabbing her face. Her grip was strong, as if her hand was concentrating well, making sure her eyes were not deceiving her.

"Kaoru-chan…?"

At that moment, the maiden felt as if a million needles had just stabbed her through her face. For years, she had tried to keep this a secret. Now that Lady Tomoki had to find out, everything was gone. What would the Lady do to her? She would get kicked out, for sure. She could no longer stay here. Something, far worse happened. Just hours after that, all the geishas were crowding around her, dressing her up in a vibrant kimono and powdering her face white. They treated her as if she was one of them. Now, she was.

"Well, that should do. Kaoru-chan, you should appreciate me for what I'm doing to you. Now, you will become a beautiful geisha and all the men will surely come." Lady Tomoki smiled in such conceit; Kaoru knew; that starting at that moment, she had become a toy for men to be entertained by, and to play with. "But, of course, you have to learn how to entertain the men, so you will not serve until tonight. Here are some poems to memorize." She handed her a stack of papers, and sent her to the new room she was designated to. Kaoru sat down, but didn't even bother to read the parchment Lady Tomoki had gave her. She just stared out of the window that dyed the whole room the color of tea. If only the rain hadn't been so cruel to her. But she loved every moment of it-stepping her feet on the wet grown, spreading her arms out into the rain. That's because when she danced, none of the geishas could tell, that she was crying.

A knock on the teahouse broke her out of her thoughts. Suspicious, she went outside of the room to see who it was. There he was-The assassin. Lady Tomoki did not recognize him at all. After a short talk to him, she announced to the whole teahouse that he was the new servant boy.

_Seikei's nose twitched after he explained the mission."You can decide your name; just don't give out your real one. And remember, pay attention to the head lady. If there's anything suspicious about her, tell me."_

"From now on, all of you may address him as, Shinta-chan." She smiled, and slowly introduced him to all the geishas in the teahouse. "And this is Chizu-san, Hana-san, Kimi-San, Momo-san…if you dare touch any of them in any inappropriate way you will be punished...and there's...Ritsu-san, Koto-san…"

Kaoru wanted to push him out. He was faking his name, he was deceiving everyone. Tonight might as well be the night that he killed all of them. Of course, she couldn't do anything. Even being a geisha, she was as useless as before. No one would listen to her. Besides, everyone was hiding last night, and didn't even glance at any of the assassins. How would they remember him?

"And…that is Kaoru. It would be nice if you could help her today. She has much memorizing to do.''

He looked into her cerulean eyes. What coldness his eyes held. But it was just a covering. Deep inside of them held so much sadness. Why did she know all of this? All she knew was that she hated him- and yet, she felt like she understood him so much. For a minute or so, they were spellbound into each other's eyes. Time stopped at just that moment.

_Shinta is such a beautiful name. _

Astounded by her thought, she turned around and headed back to her room-he followed. Shinta was his fake name, not his real one.

When he closed the door, she turned to him again, and started speaking. "Hey, you, your that hitokiri from yesterday, aren't you? Don't worry; I won't tell the geishas, they won't believe me anyways."

He didn't answer, so she knew, that it was a yes.

For one moment, as she looked into the gigantic tea colored window screen, she saw a tall, dark shadow jump away from it. Immediately, she ran to the front of the teahouse, knowing that something had gone wrong. Kenshin, who sensed it minutes before, hid it until now, and started to follow the maiden as she made her way outside.

Just as she stepped out, she felt a humongous force grab her and pull her far away from the teahouse. The servant boy, who was really the hitokiri; started running behind them. Finally, everyone in the teahouse noticed the racket and went outside too.

"Put her down!" Lady Tomoki shouted, but the person carrying Kaoru would not stop.

…She looked up, and saw a man who was wearing a chilling, blue, mask. It looked like a mask that was used in kabuki. Blue masks often symbolized the evil characters. Then, they suddenly stopped, and the man turned around, with her in front of him. Out of nowhere, he took out a short knife and jammed it near Kaoru's throat.

"You! Don't you dare move! Or your precious geisha will be killed right here at the spot!" His voice was raspy, and under his breathe was the smell of alcohol, as if he was drunk the night before. Not one step was taken by anyone, as he turned around and started running again. She was scared, but she didn't scream, for his hand was over her mouth, and in between his fingers were small, sharp kunai that could be jabbed in her jaw at any time.

Quietly and quickly, Kenshin followed, making sure that he was not heard. They were lead to a small, dilapidated building that camouflaged with the rest of Kyoto. Kaoru was tied into ropes, and a long piece of cloth tied over her mouth so she wouldn't make noise. Surprisingly, as he looked in, he saw ten, drunk men with swords by their sides. They looked like assassins, but they acted if they were renegades. It happened in a blink one's eye. With knives, they started tearing the layers of her kimono apart, laughing furiously. Their hands were everywhere; they were treating her like a toy. They were about to do what all poor, drunk, men did.

All he could hear was her muffled screams. Without thought, he jumped off his feet and ran towards the building, drawing his sword, killing every man that was in his way. He untied Kaoru. She looked petrified and her eyes were flushed red, only having her yukata and a few pieces of her beautiful kimono left on her. He took her into his arms and started running-he knew he couldn't protect her while fighting the dozen men that were left. They all had swords-he had barely enough strength to carry the geisha who was constantly pulling him down. He then reached the river deep within the ground. When he had followed Kaoru coming here, they crossed the bridge. But, the bridge was much too far away for his reach at the moment. There were no ledges to jump on top of. He looked back. He thought he could kill all of them, but more men came, surrounding him in a half circle. Half of it was the drunken men, and the other half was where the large, deep river was at, that was at least forty feet above the ground. That was eight times his size. Now, he only had to rely on luck. He tightly held Kaoru, putting his arms around her waist. She gripped her hands into his arms too, as if she knew what he was about to do.

Kaoru felt strange. She was entrusting her whole life to him right now; a stranger whom she would never befriend with.

His voice was soft and calm. "Don't look down." If they hit the rocks, he was hoping that he could be a cushion for her, and maybe, she would survive. Why did he want to protect her so much? It's as if, he, almost, _loved_ her, the way he _loved_ his old village before Hiko had taken him in.

He fell back slowly. Right before he fell into the water,a little, sad, girl appeared before his eyes.

End Chapter 5

This is so short. But hey, if I wrote anymore, it wouldn't be a cliff hanger, now would it?  
The little girl may explain the significance of dying. Or does she?

I hope this chapter isn't too cruddy, for it has been a long time since I got to write, thanks to my laziness after my computer got rebooted when rewriting, yes, rewriting chapter five. I didn't save it to a disc, because I'm cheap and never found time to buy a new one. –sigh- Hope you enjoy, just so all of you know, I'm vacationing with my family for about a month, so an update won't be until…August. –runs away from mob chasing me-

Until then, Thank you so much for staying five whole chapters with me, please review, and continue if you may, Au Revoir!


	6. Blank Memory

Uotani is sincerely sorry, but she cannot write personal apologies, thank you's, and more apologies to everyone. First, it would take her forever, since she has to say sorry so many times. Second, it would take her longer to update, so she would have to say sorry more. But, rest assured, she has read every single review and really took it to heart. Therefore, thank you to everyone who reviewed, sorry if these chapters are shortening, sorry for taking so long to update. Uotani is trying very hard. Thank you for all your support, I really, trulyappreciate it.

The Glass Maiden

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uotani the fishie

Disclaimer: Yeah, someday, you'll see Uotani The Fishie, the most probably famous Kenshin kidnapper ever. Yeah, that is the day when you have an extremely insane dream that will never come true.  
Uotani still doesn't own Kenshin. She is getting disappointed; but still not loosing hope.

Rushed cold water splashed beneath him, as he kept his grip onto the geisha. His back was full of pain, and too much water filled his eyes. He opened his mouth, only to discover that he could not breathe. She waved her hands above him, trying desperately to get back up. He could hear her screaming, but then blackness appeared in front of him, as he felt himself being eaten away by the darkness of the waters.

Red, Yellow, Orange_. "No! Kaa-san, I have to come back! She doesn't know! She doesn't know!" _Black.

It was night time when he awakened.

Kenshin felt his heart skip as he abruptly opened his eyes. There was a small fire burning beside him; and beside it; kneeled the young girl with dripped make up upon her face. "Hey, that was stupid." She said it with little emotion in her eyes, as she placed one more block of wood into the fire. Then, she repeated it. "That was stupid."

He opened his mouth to reply, but no words escaped.

Kaoru's mind seemed to blur. All she could remember was the last words he said, as he grabbed onto her and let himself fall back. He was doing it to protect her. She knew that. Yet, she thought of it as the most absurd thing someone has ever done for her. He was an assassin. He had sinned against the world; he had killed. And then he jumped down. Was it to really save her life, or was it to save his life? That man, he didn't need to go after her. If he didn't, however, she'd be dishonored. When there seemed to be no hope, he had came and killed those horrid men, and saved her. The Lady would have never done that.

The exchanged quick glances, and then both looked into the deep blaze again.

Fire. It bought him so many memories that he could never fully remember. Memories that killed him on the inside. Memories that lead him to become an assassin.

Fire. It had bought her too, many horrible memories. Fire was the one, that killed her everything. Fire destroyed her. Fire, was the reason she had to become a maid at the teahouse.

The men that abducted her that night never seemed to try to come back and check if they were alive. When sunshine had blanketed the ground, Kaoru stood up slowly, breathing in the cool, brisk air of Kyoto's colored autumn. He too, woke up, trying to stand. However, there was one slight problem-he couldnt. When he looked down, he saw white cloth tightly woven around his leg; and as he looked up, he saw Kaoru, wearing a sleeveless yukata.

"It was bruised from last night, and there wasn't anything else left...But...well, we have to get back now. There's a path to back on top of the mountain, and it doesn't lead up to where those scumbags were." She bit her lip as she stared down at his leg.

He tried hard not to keep his eyes on her. He couldn't believe it; the day before, she had shown him such coldness. And yet, behind that coldness, seemed to lay a dim light that only let itself show at certain times. "You didn't need to do this, it was nothing." Injured. He was injured many times. The thought that he could injure his leg so easily crept through his mind.

There was a long pause, and as she slightly bit her lip. "Hey, don't tell me it was nothing. I don't even think you can walk by yourself right now, and I can't just leave you here, or Lady Tomoki would get mad."

"I..can." He pushed himself as hard as he could up with his hand, and tried to stand up once more, but he couldn't.

"No, you can't." She leaned over, and raised her eyebrows a bit. "Put your arm on my shoulder, so we can start heading up." When he didn't move, she raised her voice a bit louder. "...Shinta-san, are you deaf? Come on, before I tell Lady Tomoki on how horrible you were while trying to protect me."

He tilted his head a bit, and hesitantly placed his arm around his shoulder. A top class hitokiri like him, having to lean on the shoulder of a petite geisha that seemed no stronger than the next lady that would pass by. For the third time in his life, he felt very much pathetic. The second time was when he couldn't protect his mother before she was killed. And the first time, the first time, was the time that he rarely thought about, and never wanted to think about, ever.

It was strange, leaning onto someone that he never associated with until now. She was so quiet during the long walk up, but he knew that she was thinking twice as much as he was. All he could think of was the sun that had never burned hotter, and a woman that he felt so far apart from, yet so attached to. Kaoru, the maiden who was pulled onto stage with him. Kaoru, the geisha who he didn't know that he was falling in love with.

It seemed like forever, but they had finally arrived at the teahouse. It was evening, and many customers were already inside, as if nothing had happened in the days before. It was like the assassinations that took place didn't even take place. Lady Tomoki greeted them, with a shocked look on her face. When she saw that her servant had been propping his arm around her next prized geisha, she went insane. She yelled at him, grabbed his hand, and threw him into the small room that Kaoru used to stay in. She was holding a long, hard, broomstick, and he shut his eyes as she beat it against him. "You useless boy! Stay here until your leg gets better, and I will beat it again! That is what you get for not treating Kaoru properly! You're lucky she didn't die! Damn boy!"

"Damn boy." So that's what he was. No, he wasn't. Not at all. He was nothing. This job was only temporary; like all the other temporary jobs he took. Then, in the end it would all pay off. In the end, he would kill the target, and then never be attached to anything again. That was how hitokiri worked. They took different identities. But in the end, all that was involved, was blood. And then maybe one day, it might even become his blood that is spilt. What would it matter though? He was only nothing. Or the "damn boy." No, never anything that could be left behind his footsteps that couldn't print onto this earth.

Then she left, as she told Kaoru to bathe, bathe in the bath with steaming hot water, and sleep on the soft futon with the warm covers. She would sleep, and tommorow, she would officially start serving at the teahouse.

Late at night, when the teahouse's customers had all left, Kaoru opened her eyes and snuck into her old room, her small, old room. In the darkness, she looked for the figure and whispered as she shook him. "Shinta, are you awake?"

With a small voice, he mumbled; "Yeah."

Kaoru held a bottle of yellow liquid in her hand, taking off the pieces of white cloth on his leg. Then, she placed some of the liquid on top of his bruise, and rubbed it around carefully. After she was done, she took new bandages and wrapped them around him, disposing her ld ones. "When I was a maid, Lady Tomoki use to beat me sometimes too. So I used this medicine, and I think it heals wounds faster."

"T-thank you."His heart skipped a beat when he heard that. Maybe it was just because he hadn't realized. The geisha was beat before; that was all. She was just another geisha. Then, if she was just another geisha, why had he risked his life to save her? And, why had he disobeyed his orders? He knew; Seikei clearly stated that no matter what happened, he would have to just stand by and watch. No killing in this mission, not until the end. So the night before, she could have just have gotten raped. She was just another geisha getting raped. He was suppose to stand by and watch. But then he didn't. When he got that wound; she too, did not need to try to bring him up. He was just, nothing. She, she was, nothing as well. Nothing; or so he hoped.

"Don't say that. I owe you for saving me from those men." With that, she left his room, and walked back to her own room.

She didn't think that she felt any differently towards him than she did before. She was doing this because she owed him. He saved her, yes, that's how it was like. That was the only reason why she was helping his wound heal. After that, it would be all over, and she could continue to look at him as a sinner. He was a sinner who had dirtied his hands with the blood of others. She despised those people.

Yet, right before dawn had slowly crept its way onto the teahouse windows, Kaoru found herself opening her eyes, then walking into her old room again. He was leaning against the corner of the tiny room, his head slightly down, his eyes closed, and his chest slowly moving up and down. Without thought, she came closer, and propped herself right in front of him. Hitokiri were creatures that did not deserve to be on this world. They were not deserved to be loved. And he looked so peaceful, sleeping, after killing so many men. Then, she remembered his eyes; the eyes that held so much loneliness that she could not forget.

They did not deserve to be loved, right? Then, she paused, and she could feel droplets of water coming out of her eyes, as she remembered her father, how she loved him so; and how her mother loved him as well. In the end, it all ended up in blood, the blood of the two people who created her world. Who sinned? Was it her father's fault for being a hitokiri, or was it her mother's fault for marrying her father? Reality, it was cruel, it was real- and you could never escape from it. Kaoru bit onto her lower lip as hard as she could; but she could not hold in her noise. Just as the slightest sound came out of her mouth, the eyes opened, and a fist formed, landing one inch away from her teary cheeks.

"K-Kaoru-san!"

End Chapter 6

& Uotani dances.


	7. Quiet Evenings

The Glass Maiden

The Glass Maiden

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by Uo

Chapter 7

It's been nearly two and a half years since an update, so I'm pretty shabby. Unfortunately, I have lost interest in this anime and anime overall. However, I recently picked up an old copy of my Rurouni Kenshin volume 1 and started looking through the pages again. I was mesmerized since this once interest became an interest again. Of course, I believe I don't have the drive to write as well anymore, since I don't have as much inspiration. I guess I'm just saying that I'm not obsessed anymore because life unfortunately, got in the way. For some reason, I was inspired to rewrite the sixth chapter, despite the fact that I barely remember what the story I wrote was about and I don't quite remember where I was going with it. However, I do remember tidbits and hopefully you as a reader will still enjoy it. Also, as you can see, I have renamed my story, and from now on it will be only The Glass Maiden.

Quiet Evenings – Begins.

She fell back, absolutely astounded at the fist that just seemed to fly at her.

Kenshin was shocked. It was late at night, and the only light that could be seen was the light from the moon, illuminating the mid section of his room. There she laid, elbows propped beneath her, eyes wide open. He crept towards her and gently lifted her up to her feet again.

"Sorry, I just.."

Like it was instinct, she turned her head and didn't look back. Then, her small feet flew across the wooden floor of the room that the man named "Shinta" was to stay at. The last thing she saw before she was completely out of the room was the crimson-ginger hair that stood out even at the darkest hours of the night.

Morning approached, and all the geishas were in one room, all applying their face powder and dark scarlet lipstick. Whispers surrounded the room. The girls all looked over at Kaoru, smiling. Although she was new, they seemed to favor her- only because they knew that they were better geishas and no matter what she would be incomparable to them. She was attaching flowers to her jet black hair when something caught her ear.

"The new servant boy, he's cute."

A giggle followed, as another girl turned around and smiled in approval.

"Yes, he's a fine one. Too bad he's poor!"

"Perfect, for you Kaoru!" Everyone laughed until Kaoru shot her eyes around the room and glared at the group of geishas talking. They slowly turned their head around back to the mirrors that guided them. Day one of being a geisha for Kaoru officially began.

The first customer of the evening came in as the girls lined up in a straight line behind Lady Tomoki.

"Ahhh, Sano. I haven't seen you in a while. Which girl would you like today?"

His eyes scanned the group of girls, and they blinked in dismay. "Where is she?"

"Where is who?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

Lady Tomoki just gave a faint smile, as she told him the fate that had fallen upon his favorite girl, Megumi. Without speaking, he just pointed at Kaoru. The girls gasped, as she took his hand and led him to a room and slid the door behind them with many pairs of eyes still staring.

"She's really dead?"

Kaoru just nodded. He took his hand and placed it within his robe as he took a brown envelope out. He spilled out the contents, and she covered her wide open mouth. Numerous papers of Japanese Yen fell out.

"You knew, right?"

Her heart beat fast in disbelief when she answered a mere 'yes.'. Megumi had told her, she had told her about Sano. Megumi's words echoed in her head.

"Sano, he is the one that I love. He is not like the others. And he will take me away."

Sano clenched his fist and almost broke the ground with his punch. "It was supposed to be today. I was going to bring her home today. Home with me."

The teahouse got crowded, and the room stayed quiet. Kenshin worked in the back, washing all of the dishes, wondering if the men that Seikei spoke of actually came here. The men he had to kill have not returned since the last geisha killing. Missions from Seikei were so vague. He was just ordered to kill, no background, nothing.

What another useless, boring killing he would have to face. Yet, there was one girl that caught his eye, one girl that made his heart skip a beat. He wasn't about to admit it to himself, though. Although she was kind, she seemed to despise him, if she felt anything at all towards him. And, after all, the only girl that he had ever loved rested at the bottom of his heart and probably beneath the shady layers of earth that people walked upon everyday, as well.

Anyhow, he hoped his mission would e over soon, so he could run out of the boring hell of it and just get out of the teahouse. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. Lady Tomoki had walked in right when he had stopped scrubbing and whacked him with a broom. "Get back to work."

When the day was over and the teahouse was cleared, it was quiet once again. Kaoru took her bottle of yellow liquid and slid open Kenshin's door. He was quiet as she knelt down beside him and removed his bandages. Yet, in place of the open wound she had found just a scab, almost gone.

"Thanks for the medicine. It really helped."

When everyone sleeps, there is one person always awake in the midst of the night. This person happened to be a theater worker tonight. He walked through the empty theater out to the night. He walked and walked, and then slowly crept to the place he was so familiar yet unfamiliar with. Then, without a thought, he jumped on top of the fence and sliced the backdoor ever so quietly. A sword was in between the grasp of his hand, and he walked into a room. Strangely, although it contained neatly folded kimonos and seemingly new make up, it was not occupied.

He went into the next room, and there he found a girl beneath the covers of her futon. Stealthily, he slashed the girl in the stomach. Not one scream was heard as a pool of blood gathered beneath his feet.

Three rooms away, she looked at him. Her mind, as if it went blank and made her body move on its own, took control. Her body fell forward upon him as she buried her forehead into his chest. She finally broke. She finally needed something, someone to clutch onto. And in the back of her mind, she felt as if she were clutching onto her father. His soul was different, but the same. His body felt cold; his eyes felt warm. She closed her eyes.

"_What is she doing?"_ His heart raced as the girl that seemingly despised him was taking shelter into his body. A familiar scent surrounded him, and would've kept doing so until he smelled blood. He shot up, ran to the source that provided this scent and found a geisha clearly dead. He yelled for help, discovering that the killer had just escaped right under his nose.


	8. No Blood, Just Tea

**Angeomon:** Thank you so much for continuing to read my story even though there was a two year break in between. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**bRKeN tYmeZ:** Thanks for your support! I really appreciate it, and you'll just have to continue the story to see what truly happens to Kenshin and Kaoru.

**Extra news: **A friend of mines has offered to draw images that can match up with my fanfiction : I'm very happy, and I'll be posting them up with the chapters they correlate with once they are complete.

**To everyone reading: **If you enjoyed this, please review ) Thank you.

The Glass Maiden

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction by UF

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Kenshin or any of Watsuki's characters mentioned in this fanfiction. Plus, do not get offended if you do not agree with the content, as it is just my crazy imagination at work.

The teahouse has never been so silent. Two geishas were dead, erased out of the world, without a trace, without a single family member to come back and mourn. And then there was the geisha that walked around the tea house cleaning dishes instead of entertaining men for so many years. Time seemed to move swiftly, as the Bakumatsu period began to enclose upon itself. There was no less blood spilt, though. Many bodies seen one day were gone the next. Feet entering the teahouse often only entered once and often forgot to come back, no matter how wondrous their stay was.

There was a new servant boy. He was quiet, but he always did his work. Everyday, he passed by the new prized geisha as though he had not the slightest interest in her. Of course he would not be able to get far with her anyways; he did not have money. He was just the servant boy. However, often times before evening came and not many customers lurked, she would join him in scrubbing the dishes. It was a habit, and Lady Tomoki did not really mind. The girl was used to it.

And that wasn't the thing that bothered her at all. Sometimes, they'd look up at each other as if something incredibly divine was going through the other's eyes. No one saw this but her. Tomoki saw. She saw them as she walked by and watched them for no longer than ten seconds at a time. It was only ten seconds or less at a time, and yet somewhere in the back lining of her mind she knew that the last thing these two had was a normal relationship. The boy had rescued Kaoru, once, after all. If there was anything more than a friendly companionship, she was not yet able to confirm. But there was something.

That was not all she saw, though. His eyes seemed almost blank, almost always. He was destitute, and yet his forearms showed great stability and strength, stability and strength that could not belong to a servant boy; not even one that did harsh farmwork all of his life.

"Lady Tomoki, the dishes are done, the rooms are set, and we are ready for tonight." His voice was calm and yet it brought upon her spine a silent rush she was able to recognize, and was able to recognize for the past twenty years.

What this hitokiri was doing at her teahouse, she did not know. "Good. Tell the girls to start dressing up. We are going to have a busy night. The Kabuki group booked us, and I have errands to run."

Sure, he looked like a servant boy at first glance, but he didn't fool her. His quiet mannerisms, the way she couldn't hear the slightest footstep as he glided through the wooden floors of her teahouse. Plus, the way not one teacup was broken since his stay. That was probably because he was a better servant than Kaoru, though. Tonight, she would find out his motives.

When night approached, she quietly opened the door and made her way out of the teahouse with a geisha along her side. The sound of grasshoppers blanketed upon them.

"Lady Tomoki, where are we going?"

She did not have any obligation to answer the geisha, so she did not. When they arrived, Tomoki knocked on the door twice. Silence. Then, she knocked once. The door slowly opened. Tomoki stepped into the darkness, with the reluctant geisha behind her. One. A man behind the geisha grabbed her mouth to muffle her screaming. Two. He slid his sword out of his sheath. The noise surprises Tomoki, making her shift her head back. Three. He gripped the sword and shoved it through the back of her neck and into her throat, making blood spill out like a waterfall.

"Why did you bring her here?" A voice came out of the darkness.

"I…I didn't know I couldn't." Tomoki's wrists were grabbed by the source of the voice, and the door closed.

Back at the tea house, business was usual. Kenshin had already finished all of his work in the morning, and was able to rest until the end of the night. He closed the door to his room, and went out the other. One building away, his head master, Katsura, was waiting for him.

"It's been long since Seikei's sent you there. Are you almost done?"

Kenshin shook his head, as he was far from being done. Within the two years he was working under Katsura and Seikei, he had never taken such a long time on a job.

"Be careful." His master's voice lowered, as if he were listening for anyone who was listening to the conversation. "I, myself, do not know Seikei's motives this time. He may be putting you on the line."

This statement almost made Kenshin laugh. Seikei was well over fifty years old. Thirty years ago, he was one of the feared hitokiri. There was a time for Seikei, but that time was over. Now, he was just a fifty year old ex-samurai that gave orders under Katsura. Despite of this, he nodded, as his master walked away into the shadows.

Tomoki forced the man to let go of his grip as she sat herself down next to a table in the middle of the room. "What is that boy doing in my teahouse? You know him, don't you? Is he the one killing my most prized geisha?"

The man shook his head. "Nope. I don't know him at all. Probably just a killer that's hiding from his master. As for the dying geisha at your teahouse, it's just a coincidence. There are many crazed killers lurking. You're lucky you're not a victim."

Silence filled the room, and then Tomoki spoke again. "It seems like just yesterday when he entered the teahouse with that blank expression on his face. He wasn't interested at all."

The man sitting across from her looked down.

"But he loved me."

The man smiled. Shortly afterwards, he stood up and headed towards the door, with the intentions of letting Tomoki leave.

"You know," Tomoki turned around as she was about to step out to the cold night again. "I wasn't talking about the boy."

"You should know that I know that." With that, the door closed behind her, as she tried avoiding the puddle of blood that belonged to a geisha that Kaoru just replaced. They did not need her, anyway. She took the long way home, stopping by a stand to buy five bottles of sake to keep her company on the way back. The cap on the first bottle was popped open, as she took multiple sips.

_-Fifteen years ago-_

All good things come to an end. All good things had already come to an ending. Two people stepped into the tea house that night. One was in his early thirties. His hair was pulled up into a neat bun that illuminated gray, and he had a hearty laugh. He was a frequent customer. Although he seemed like a commoner, every geisha that served him knew that he was not. He was a deadly assassin; but he led a clan now, so he did not kill as much. He had others to do his dirty work.

The second person was a boy, about nineteen or so. He was probably one of the men that did this "dirty work." His jet black hair was tied up, and his face was expressionless. At that time, she was ordered to serve him. Apparently, he did a "good job" and his master would give him a treat that night.

What was the treat? She, of course. Tama was twenty-three at that time, and she was the teahouse's pride and joy. The men would fall to their knees just to see her, and pay their whole months of work for her to serve them. Because of this, she only met rich men. Most of the time, the rich were the swindlers of the city. Rarely did she meet a man that understood the poems she wrote and recited. They just sat, laughed, admired her beauty, got drunk, and came out a mess; just like they had came in. When the boy came in, she was downright frustrated. He didn't smile or laugh at her jokes. He didn't say anything at her obviously magnificent pieces of work. Yet, everyday, he'd come back with his master. She was pretty sure he was forced to, so one day; she took her instrument and rammed it down to the floor.

"I'm sick of serving you! You give me no respect, you pay me and you…you sit there! That's all you do!" And it was true. Tama was sick of serving the same customer. He wasn't one of those fools that came by frequently, but he wasn't one of those wise men she wished would take her away, either. He was just a little boy that sat there like he was listening to his mother tell him old fairytales. When she looked at him for his reaction, nothing happened. And then suddenly, he fell back and started laughing. And he laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more.

Her face flushed red. "What's wrong? Are you crazy? Why are you laughing? You are making me mad! I can get you banned from this teahouse!"

He covered his face with his hands, and in a muffled voice she heard him finally speak. "I've never seen someone try so hard to entertain me. Never. You are funny."

And he came back, the next day, the next day, and the next. He started to speak quite often. She started to tone down her make up quiet a bit. Sometimes, if she could, she'd just stay in the room and wait for him to come, so the head lady wouldn't see her in a plain kimono, hair not in a bun, make up, undone. He wasn't a customer anymore, though. Everyday, he'd come in and talk to her. Sometimes, he'd come in with bloody gashes, along with a smile. "You're lucky you make good tea or I might be meeting the gods in the heavens right now. Came back just to drink it." And it was words like that, that made her slight frown turn into a delicate smile.

All good things come to an end. The number of samurai increased, the clans that posed a danger to Japan 's new era increased, and the number of missions a hitokiri was ordered to take increased. After a while, he stopped coming. On the outside, Tama would just act normally. She would serve customers that came every night, and tell herself she was angry at the hitokiri boy she served since she didn't need to dress up to please him. Now, she had to. What a pity.

On the back of her mind though, he laid there. Every night, she'd look at the doors whenever she heard footsteps, hoping his eyes would meet hers and she would be able to take off her uncomfortable kimono. She didn't need it when she was around him. One night, there was a knock on the teahouse's front doors. The lady told her to shoo the customer off, so she went to the doors and opened them. Expecting a drunk man that needed a yelling, she opened her mouth. Tama stopped when her eyes met his, though. Immediately, he embraced her.

"Tama, I'm sorry I haven't been here. I'll come back, though. After tonight. Just you wait, I'll come back and…you won't have to worry about me anymore."

"Who's going to worry about you?" Before anything else was said, he left into the darkness. Right as he left, another figure emerged. A knife's sharp edge pushed against her neck.

His master's hair was tied up into a neat bun like always, but a hearty smile didn't spread across his face. "Tonight, you will kill, or be killed. After this, never come back to me again. Do not call me master, the whole clan will no longer acknowledge your work here. You are done serving for us."

The assassin came back to his home before leaving this city forever. "Brother, are you there?" His brother came out of the curtain of darkness that covered the house. "Brother, I'm going to leave after tonight. Please, take care of your family. Do not fear for me."

"I fear for what's closest to me right now. I fear for not only you, but my wife, my daughter. The times are changing, but the blood shed still does not cease."

"Don't worry for them. Just give this letter to the geisha Tama, at the teahouse, if you ever want protection for them. They won't have to serve as geishas, but they will get a place to stay." With that, he left his brother, his sister-in-law, his niece, and his love. He knew that he would not survive the fight he was about to face. The man he was facing wielded a sword much better than he had. Not much longer, maybe even shorter, but much better. Kogorou Katsura, with no doubt, would slaughter him with the moon as a witness, tonight.

_--_

When Kenshin returned to the tea house, he looked around the Kabuki group. The blue masks the actors held around greatly resembled the ones that the evil men who tried to abduct Kaoru, wore. She didn't seem startled by it at all, though. She just went on serving the men. Her movements were graceful, but they said nothing. Something was lurking at the back of her mind.

Shinta, there was something so familiar about him. Perhaps it was because he was an assassin, and she never served with one. The closest she ever got to an assassin was with her father. And yet there was something comforting about just hearing his name, even though she was sure it wasn't his real name. But she hated him. She hated him so much; he made his way through life by killing people. He had no right to kill; no one had the right to kill. Why did she feel so safe with him?

That night was a rough night for the geishas. The Kabuki group had made a mess, but thankfully, the leader of the group had paid a generous price. Aka handed over a huge stack of yen as him and the rest of his theater group began to exit the teahouse. Right after he left, a figure came in from the back door. "Kaoru! Kaoru where are you?" Kaoru, with Kenshin following behind her, quickly rushed out of her room and went up to the lady.

"Tomoki…you're drunk again."

"No I'm not. Shinta, take me to Kaoru's room. Kaoru, follow." Tomoki held onto her last bottle of sake.

When they were finally in her room, the three sat on the ground.

"Kaoru, Shinta, you're going to share a room."

Before any of them could interrupt, she continued. "There is no way I am going to let my prized geisha stay in a room alone. Both of you have seen the tragic incidents that have been surrounding the teahouse lately. You." Tomoki pointed towards Kenshin's direction. "I don't know why you're working at my teahouse, but tomorrow pick up a sword from the market. You are going to protect her now."

"I've never wielded- "

"Don't lie to me." She took out her bottle and started to let the sake rush down her throat. "You know how to kill. A mere servant boy could not smell like so much blood."

He was stopped dead in his tracks. How did she know? No commoner, let alone a woman, ever recognized the smell that surrounded him. When Tomoki did not hear any disagreement, she stood up, and took all of her might to struggle to her room.

That night, Kaoru took a part of her face powder and drew a defined line down her futon. "You have this side, and I have this side. You move over to my side and you are dead."

"It's ok, I can sleep against the wall."

"NO. You're not an assassin when you're at the teahouse; you're my protector, now. You're supposed to protect me, and there's absolutely no way you can do that across the room. Turn around." When he did, she stripped down and changed into her thin sleeping gown and went under the sheets of the futon.

He went to his side, and faced the way opposite from her. Just as he was about to doze off, her voice woke him up. "Shinta. What's your real name?"

Not sure of why she was interested, but he answered. "Kenshin. Himura, Kenshin."

"Kenshin. Can I call you that from now on?"

He turned around, just to see the light of the moon that shed upon her face. Kenshin nodded. With a slight smile, or snicker- he couldn't tell; she closed her eyes.

There was a girl he once loved. He was only seven, but it had been almost a decade since then, and he still had a place in his heart for her. Red, Yellow, Orange_. "No! Kaa-san, I have to come back! She doesn't know! She doesn't know!" _Black. He often had this dream, and it would often fade to black. Except this time, before it faded to black, a small jade charm appeared. The faint scene of jasmine surrounded him.

"Wow, what does that mean?" His short auburn hair brushed against the side of his cheeks as the little girl in front of him flushed bright red. Her hands formed small fists as she held up her charm.

"Stupid, that's my last name and my first name. Kamiya…Kaoru."


End file.
